


Cats, Cars & Catastrophes

by skargasm



Series: Stories A - Z [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cats, Established Relationship, Fanart, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, M/M, Misunderstandings, Secret Santa, Steter Secret Santa, Steter Secret Santa 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-21
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:02:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28207269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skargasm/pseuds/skargasm
Summary: After nearly three and a half years together, Stiles is beginning to worry that Peter has fallen out of love with him. If only he knew…
Relationships: Peter Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Series: Stories A - Z [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2060769
Comments: 33
Kudos: 315





	1. Match made in heaven - trouble in Paradise?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Siberian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Siberian/gifts).



> For the first time, I went in for the Steter Secret Santa! 
> 
> _I'm easygoing. I love time travel fix it fics. I'm happy with AU's. I love MPREG. I'm happy with fluff but love me some angst. I'm happy as long as these two ridiculous dudes are happy. That is one thing I do want, a happy ending._
> 
> Hopefully, this is fluffy enough for you!

[ ](https://imgur.com/JBPAApl)

Once the mechanic had managed to tow the Jeep out of the ditch, Peter saw the look of horror and distress on Stiles’ face. 

“Are you hurt?” Stiles turned to him absently, watching as his vehicle was winched onto the tow-truck. 

“No, I’m all fine. Shouldn’t I be asking you if you’re alright?” The griffon they had been fighting had been a stubborn beast, with huge claws, unexpected fangs and a bad attitude. It had taken three members of the pack and Stiles in his jeep to finally deal with the thing.

“I’m not the one who just drove into a tree, darling,” Peter replied, surreptitiously checking Stiles over for any damage. “Do you think you might need to go to the hospital? Just to be checked over?”

“No – honestly, I’ve had so many concussions by now, I know all the signs to look out for,” Stiles replied, finally turning and giving Peter his attention. “Besides, you’ll stay with me all night and wake me periodically to make sure I don’t have a brain bleed, won’t you?”

“You do say the most romantic things!” Peter replied, turning Stiles and guiding him to the cluster of cars with various pack members getting ready to go home. Looking over his shoulder at the almost completely destroyed vehicle gave Peter an idea.

* * *

“I think Peter’s fallen out of love with me,” Stiles announced and Scott winced as the cat he was in the process of worming scratched him, blood welling up even as the cut healed.

“Stiles – “

“No, I’m serious!” Stiles said, thunking his head down onto the table. Scott made a note to sterilise that as soon as possible. “I told him the Jeep was going to be in the shop for a LONG time and he barely acknowledged it!”

“To be fair, the Jeep ends up in the shop a lot,” Scott replied, managing to soothe the cat into holding still long enough to administer the medicine.

“Yeah but – this time was because I drove into that big ass tree trying to save him! You’d think he’d care that Roscoe could well be going to that giant garage in the sky because of him!”

“Is that the only reason you think Peter has fallen out of love with you or do you have any actual evidence?” Scott asked, placing the cat back into its carrier and making sure the door was securely closed.

“Well – “

“ _Without_ getting TMI! I don’t want to know about your christening every room at your place – I saw way too much when we were still rooming together!” Scott said hastily.

“Fine!” Stiles replied. “But things have seriously slacked off in that department! We used to be all over each other but lately – things have just been a little lacklustre.”

Washing his hands, Scott tried to think what to say. Allison was encouraging him not to say the first thing that popped into his head – especially after a disastrous meal with her parents – and he realised that Stiles sounded a little sad.

“You’ve been working on your thesis which has kept you busy. And Peter got really badly clawed up by that griffon – that thing was _nasty_! It took most of us quite a while to heal up after that, so – you know – maybe he wasn’t up to anything – er energetic?” He checked Stiles’ expression to be sure he hadn’t said anything untoward.

“I know, I know – I mean, my schedule has been _brutal_ , and you’d think some of those supernatural nasties might be studying as well so maybe give us a break but – I don’t know, Scott. There’s just – something going on.” Stiles put his head into his cupped hands, looking sadly at his friend. “Do you think he might be cheating on me?”

“What? Hell, no!” Scott responded automatically. “You know my thoughts on Peter – I think he’s too creepy by half – but he would **never** cheat on you!! He’s, like, obsessed with your ass and keeps making inappropriate comments about it – I _really_ don’t think he’s cheating on you, Stiles.”

Stiles perked up slightly. “When was the last time he said something inappropriate about my ass and what did he say?”

“Ew, I’m not repeating it! I do not need to know that your ass is surprisingly bouncy – it’s just, not something brothers should know about each other!” Scott replied, trying to get the image out of his head. Peter had made cupping gestures with his hands to emphasise what he was talking about and Scott had been extremely disturbed.

“That will do,” Stiles said with a smile. “But, still – do werewolves who’ve found their mates ever cheat? Or, like, just change their minds?”

“Stiles – _talk_ to him! That’s what you always tell me anyway. I guarantee you, Peter still lusts after you as much as he ever did!” He walked around the table and grabbed his friend by the shoulders, tugging until Stiles stood up. “Now, you have to go – I need to clean down the surgery because I promised Allison I would take her out to dinner tonight.”

“Fine, fine, but see if I care the next time you accidentally tell Chris about what you and Allison get up to in the Preserve!”

“Ssh! We swore we would never mention that again – I still blush when I remember his face! And I’m pretty sure Victoria was going to knife me until Allison got us out of there safely!” Scott shuddered, remembering that extremely embarrassing and memorable dinner with his in-laws. He pushed Stiles out of the surgery and to the front door, patting his friend on the back. “I’m sure there’s nothing going on. You guys are a match made in heaven.”

* * *


	2. Cars & Cats

”He’s going to kill you,” Derek said, looking over at his uncle.

“No, he won’t! He’ll see that I was trying to do something nice and will be perfectly understanding,” Peter replied, covering his face with his hands as he lay back on the sofa. Stiles was going to kill him. “How difficult a request is it? Find the parts, fit the parts, make it pretty! It _should_ have been easy!”

“Well then maybe you _should_ have stuck with asking Cora to do the work like we originally suggested,” Derek said, enjoying his Uncle’s trauma a little too much. It was funny in a way – Uncle Peter was never nervous about his plans or thrown off course. Peter jumped up from his position on the couch, leaning towards Derek.

“Do you think she’ll take over? With such a tight deadline?” Derek sighed. He had been enjoying Peter’s distress, but his transparent need for this to go perfectly was beginning to play on Derek’s guilt-button.

“Probably. If you play the family card – and hand over a **lot** of money,” he finally said, watching the relief pass his uncle’s face. “And she’ll make you help – you know how much she likes to see you suffering getting dirty. What you’re asking for is – “

“I know it seems extreme but – it was his mother’s and he’s hanging onto it because it’s his last link with her. I actually suggested I get him a car like mine – “ Derek couldn’t stop himself from laughing aloud and Peter looked offended. “What?”

“Uncle Peter – you drive a car that is so clearly part of an early mid-life crisis and you seriously thought Stiles would want one like it?”

“I’ll have you know there are only four of them in the United States and I own two of them – there’s nothing wrong with my car!” Peter protested. “Besides, I’m not middle-aged!”

“Yeah, but – Stiles does all that off-road stuff. He’s always driving around in the Preserve and hulking around bleeding werewolves and stuff like that. I don’t think your penile substitute would be any good for any of that!”

Peter sighed, subsiding back onto the couch.

“I’ll have you know my car is not a penile substitute – more of an outward symbol of my natural blessings,” Peter snarked. “Fine, I think I’ll call your sister. Might as well make this a family project,” Peter agreed. “Did Laura show you the work she’s been doing?”

“Yeah, she did. It’s gorgeous. I can’t believe you gave her free rein though,” Derek replied, sitting down next to his Uncle. “This is a big move, Uncle Peter. Do you think he’s ready? He’s not a wolf so maybe he doesn’t feel it as much as you do – “

“I’m the surest of this as I’ve ever been about anything,” Peter stated firmly. “He is it for me, Derek – now and always.”

“Good. I mean, I know we don’t always see eye to eye but it's been kinda nice to see you finding your soul-mate – even if he is someone as irritating as Stiles. And comes with Scott attached – “ Derek scowled.

“Just ignore the pup. He’s learning who he is since the bite – he’ll settle down,” Peter replied.

“Humph! I think he’s had long enough – he could at least show a little respect to our Pack. We didn’t have to let him stay – “

“Derek, let it go! I know he annoys you, but just think how much fun we’ve had watching Jackson hand him his ass on so many occasions!” Derek smiled, remembering the last Pack training session when Jackson had had just enough of McCall’s whining and paralysed him almost immediately, repeating the action every time sensation returned until Talia had made him stop.

That had been a good day.

“Fine, fair enough!” He turned back to Peter. “So, when?”

“If Cora can do this last bit quickly, then this weekend.” Peter gave an audible gulp. “Maybe next week.” Derek laughed.

* * *

Sat on the couch attempting to catch up with some of his required reading, Stiles thought about what Scott had said. Groghu, his ginger Maine Coon, mewed next to him, insisting on affection whilst Lazarus, his Smokey Grey Maine Coon watched him from his place on the nearby recliner. Both of the cats were _meant_ to belong to Stiles, but somehow Lazarus had decided that Peter was his person. Stiles still wasn’t sure how Peter felt about it – it was strange to see him walking around the little apartment with Lazarus on his shoulder, complaining the whole time about the amount of cat hair he was covered with but never actually stopping Lazarus when he insisted on climbing Peter to reach his favourite perch.

Peter and he had both been surprised when the cats hadn’t even blinked at being exposed to a werewolf in their territory – Groghu was too lazy to be scared, and Lazarus appeared to think the werewolf that practically lived with them was slightly more interesting than humans. Stiles was just glad it hadn’t scared the pair of them bald – he had been afraid of that when Scott had been bitten by a rogue alpha and both of his cats had initially reacted badly to his presence.

Groghu and Lazarus were his last link to his father – the Sheriff had found them abandoned during a household search and brought them home to Stiles who was struggling with high school. Somehow, being given the responsibility of looking after the pair of brothers had helped Stiles steady himself, find his feet and become happier. The bond between them was extremely strong – Scott used to joke that the cats were his familiars – and he hadn’t known what he would do if they continued to react badly to Scott.

That was how he had met Peter in the first place.

Scott had been directed to the Hales as the nearest Pack who could help him handle his new status, which of course meant that Stiles tagged along. He’d watched as Talia Hale helped Scott find his anchor, trained him how to control his new aggression, and generally handle being a werewolf.

In the meantime, Stiles had nosed around their library, asked millions of questions, and generally made a pest of himself. Peter Hale had seemed to find him amusing and at nineteen, Stiles had been flustered, flattered and attracted in equal measure. However, he had never in a million years expected things to develop between he and Peter until somehow they spent almost all of their time together, went out regularly and one night about a year after he and Scott had joined the Pack, Peter had simply reached over and planted a kiss on Stiles that seared him down to his toes.

Stiles had been a goner ever since.

But how long could he seriously expect a man in his early thirties, already established in his career as Left Hand of the Hale Pack and **the** wolf to call if you needed difficult territory negotiations, to put up with living with a grad student in a teeny flat that barely managed to hold all of his books? Peter never said anything about it – more often than not, they headed straight to the bedroom when they were here – but it was such a contrast to the giant Mansion that most of the pack lived in. The Hales were a tight-knit family and pack, with most partners of the wolves simply moving in and adding to the general melee. But Stiles wasn’t sure about doing that – despite talking a lot and loving being surrounded by the pack most of the time, he liked his space and his quiet.

What if that turned out to be a deal-breaker? What if the reason Peter was so distant and busy lately was that he was drawing away from Stiles in preparation for dumping him?

His cell rang, interrupting his glum thoughts and he smiled upon seeing that it was Peter. They were meant to be going out to the cinema that evening and Stiles had been looking forward to the break from his studying.

“Is that Satan in a vee-neck?” he asked, smiling at the tsk sound Peter made.

“Stiles – how many times have I told you that I am not Satan?”

“I dunno – no one has ever seen you and Satan together at the same time. That seems like pretty damning evidence if you ask me,” he laughed.

“About this evening – “

“Oh.” Stiles felt his mood dropping.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but something has come up,” Peter said, his tone weary.

“Right – no, that’s fine. I get it,” Stiles replied, biting his lip in an attempt to hold back tears.

“I will make it up to you, I swear,” Peter continued, sounding sincere. “Cora needs me to assist her with something – “

“No, it’s cool. I have some required reading I need to get done anyway. And it’s brushing time for the beasts – winter coats do not maintain themselves,” he joked weakly, appreciating the head-butts Groghu was giving him as he hugged the cat close.

“We’ll do something special this weekend,” Peter said.

“Yep, sounds good,” Stiles replied.

“Or maybe the beginning of next week – it depends on a few things – “

“Sorry, Peter, Lazarus has knocked over a lamp – I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you soon!” Stiles pressed the end call button and sat looking at his cell phone in silence. Scott was talking out of his ass – Peter had _definitely_ fallen out of love with Stiles.

* * *


	3. The Best Laid Plans...

Talia walked into the living room, coming to a halt when she saw Peter on the sofa. He was filthy – completely covered in what looked like oil and paint, his hair a tousled mess, his facial hair unkempt.

“What the hell happened to you?” She asked, slipping onto the couch next to her brother.

“Cora,” he replied, looking incredibly weary. “That girl is – scary.”

“Well, yes – and a lot of it is down to you so don’t complain,” Talia replied. “What’s going on?”

“You know I contracted someone to do some work for me?” Talia nodded. “Well, they let me down – couldn’t do what I asked them to do, or refused to. Whatever. So I asked Cora to do it, and she’s been acting like a sergeant Major since then, ordering me around and generally treating me like a slave,” Peter said. 

“Ah, I see!” She hid a small smile, imagining just how much fun her youngest daughter had had being in a position of power over her Uncle Peter. Yes, she could well imagine that Cora had taken full advantage of it. “But is it finished?”

Peter sat up, a smile crossing his face. “It is. And, even if I do say so myself, it’s a work of art.”

“So, you think he’ll like it? I mean – it’s quite a lot that you’ve done to it, and he might not approve?”

“If it means that thing will keep going for a few more years, Stiles would sell one of his kidneys. Or maybe one of mine – he’s quite practical like that,” Peter replied.

“And the work that Laura was doing?”

“All complete. We’re all set for tomorrow.” The two sat in contemplative silence for a few moments. “What if – “

“He’s not going to say no, Peter. After everything you’ve done to make it perfect – after everything you’ve been through together – it’s all going to be fine,” she reassured him, patting him on the arm.

“I hope so. I feel that I’ve neglected him shamefully the last month or so trying to get all of this done and - “

“He’ll understand. And it will all be worth it. I assure you.” Peter leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek before heaving himself tiredly to his feet.

“Thanks, Tal.” Peter yawned widely, stretching his arms to the ceiling. “I guess I better get myself cleaned up – tomorrow is going to be a special day.”

“Yes, indeed. Have you arranged with Scott moving the beasts?” she asked, using the affectionate name the pack had given to Stiles’ two cats. It was rare that members of the pack got to be around pets without the animals panicking about being so close to predators, so Lazarus and Groghu held a special place in all of their hearts. Whenever anyone visited Stiles in his small apartment, there was often friendly competition to see just who the cats would deign to stand by, giant tails floofing in the air as they demanded scritches and love.

“No – I ended up asking Derek to do it. We all know Scott can’t keep a secret and anyway, I believe Allison is off to training camp so he’s going to be busy,” Peter replied. “That, and whenever she goes away he turns into a miserable bastard and I won’t have that raining on my parade.”

“Fair point. Well, good luck, Peter, although I don’t think you’ll need it. You love him, he loves you – what could go wrong?”

* * *

A lot, apparently.

”You did what?”

“They’re big cats but incredibly agile! I didn’t know they’d react like that!” Derek protested, thankful that he wasn’t actually with his uncle. He got the impression that Peter would happily skin him alive if they had been in the same room. “You told me that you’d taken them over there a couple of times, that they were comfortable being there!”

“Yes, but I didn’t tell you to just open the carrier and let them out! You were meant to put them into the smaller cat room – they have a litter tray in there, food and water and it was _meant_ to give them a chance to acclimatise! Now you’ve traumatised them and they’re lost in the house!” Peter’s voice got louder and louder as he spoke. 

“They’re not _lost_ – just hiding,” Derek protested, knowing that he sounded lame. 

“Derek Andrew Hale – I will strangle you with your intestines if you don’t find those god-damn cats NOW!” Peter hissed through the phone.

“Well, how do I – “

“Fridge – large chunks of meat – wave them in the air as you walk around the house – I guarantee you Groghu will come out for it at least! Lazarus – well, leave Laz to me!” Peter replied. “I’ve got to go – they’re valeting my car and I think there’s a problem!”

Relieved when Peter hung up, Derek made his way through the house to the kitchen, admiring the hard work Laura had put into the place as he did so. Wave around some meat, corral the cats into the small cat room – how hard could it be?

* * *

Swearing beneath his breath, Peter turned to the workman who had been trying to get his attention during his phone call with Derek. 

“I do apologise – you were saying?” he asked as politely as possible, not wanting to take his tension and bad mood out on the worker.

“Er – there’s been a problem with the internal valet,” the man said, shifting nervously from foot to foot. 

“What sort of problem?”

“You said unscented, right?” Peter nodded.

“That’s correct – the scented air fresheners give me a migraine,” he explained, following as the man led him to the Ford Shelby. The exterior was gleaming, the navy blue metal glorious in the sunlight. All of the doors were open – including the trunk – and as he got closer, an overwhelming scent of flowers assailed his nostrils. “What the hell is that?” he asked, turning to the worker who took a step back.

“The – er – the air fresheners got mixed up and mislabelled and – “

“Are you telling me the inside of my car is where that unbelievable stench is coming from?” Peter said between gritted teeth, barely holding back a growl. 

“The smell should fade in a couple of days – “

“A couple of days – “

“I am so sorry, Mr Hale!” A glance at his watch showed him that he didn’t have time to argue or see if there was anything they could do to mitigate the smell. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to be late.

“No, I completely understand. Just – put the bill on my tab please?” He turned away and decided to call Stiles, just to reassure him that he was indeed on his way. The line rang for an interminable amount of time before the call was picked up. “Stiles.”

“Look, if you’re ringing to cancel, I get it! You didn’t have to string me along – I’m a big boy, Peter, you could have just told me you didn’t want to see me any more!” Before Peter could say anything, the call was ended and he was left standing holding his cell-phone, not quite sure when everything had gone so completely wrong.

* * *


	4. Finally face to face...

Stiles tossed his cell phone onto the sofa, ignoring the ringing that began immediately. He wasn’t in the mood for a post-mortem – Peter had made it abundantly clear that he wasn’t interested in seeing Stiles any more. Pulling at his hair, he tried to think what to do. He wished he was at home – some snuggles with his cats were in order, as well as a pint of ice cream. Unfortunately, he’d agreed to help Derek sort out some of his books, which was why he was stuck here. Peter was _supposed_ to be picking him up and taking him home, but it looked like that was no longer an option – and the Jeep was taking _forever_ in the shop.

Resigned to calling an Uber, he lowered his head into his hands. He couldn’t see where things had gone wrong. He’d been busy with studying, yes, but he’d always made time for Peter. And they’d seemed to be happy. Stiles had been ready to risk asking whether Peter wanted to consider moving in together. But now this.

Fuck it, he wasn’t going to be able to do any more work – he might as well head home. Grabbing his jacket and retrieving his cell-phone from where it had managed to fall between some cushions, he checked to make sure he was leaving things tidy. He would have to come back another day – how Derek found anything on his bookshelves was a complete mystery.

He stepped out of the house, locking the door and hiding the key in the wolf-gnome he had bought Derek as a gag-gift for his last birthday, before turning at the sound of a car. It was Peter – just great. So he wasn’t going to get away from the post-mortem after all. Heaving a sigh, he put his hands into his pockets and waited as Peter brought the car to a smooth halt and climbed out of the vehicle.

* * *

How he hadn’t been pulled over was a miracle, but Peter was relieved to see that Stiles hadn’t left Derek’s place yet. He had no idea where the misunderstanding had arisen but he was going to make sure Stiles knew that Peter was most definitely not finished with him. 

Jumping out of the car and taking a breath of fresh air – that air freshener was truly repulsive and he couldn’t understand how people requested it voluntarily – he walked briskly up the path to Derek’s front door. 

“Stiles – “

“I am really not in the mood to hear this,” Stiles said, scowling at Peter. Frustrated at how the day had gone so far, Peter took Stiles by the shoulders and pulled him into a kiss, ignoring the muffled cry Stiles gave and enjoying the simple pleasure of tasting his mate after a day of frustration. He kissed Stiles thoroughly, taking the time to enjoy his taste and scent, soaking in the feelings of relaxation that only came over him when he was with the other man. “Um – “ Stiles said, pulling back slightly and giving Peter a confused look. 

“I’m sorry I’m late – I have had a truly horrendous day and I needed that,” Peter said, smiling at the befuddled look on Stiles’ face. “Now, what was it you were saying on the phone before we were so, unfortunately, cut off?”

“You’re not breaking up with me?” Stiles finally managed to speak, brows furrowed in confusion. 

“Not in this lifetime,” Peter asserted firmly, taking Stiles by the hand and pulling him towards the car. 

“Peter – where are we going?” Stiles didn’t protest, allowing Peter to tuck him into the car and slam the door on him. “What is that god-awful smell?” he asked as Peter climbed into the driver’s side.

“There was an – _incident_ – at the valets. Apparently, it will fade in a few days,” Peter stated, starting the engine and turning to his partner. “I owe you more than one apology for how things have been lately, but obviously the biggest one is in letting you think that I didn’t want to be with you. Hopefully, I can rectify that error over the rest of today.”

Stiles looked at him coolly before his face relaxed into a smile.

“Well, the first thing you can do is take me to pick up the Jeep. I think that something’s going on at that shop because they don’t normally take this long to sort it out,” Stiles said, doing up his seat belt. 

“I just have to pop in somewhere else first – if you don’t mind,” Peter said, relieved that Stiles was giving him a chance to make things up to him. 

“That’s fine – although I do need to get home to feed Groghu and Laz you know,” Stiles replied, settling into the seat. 

“Those beasts of yours – “

“Shut up – we both know you love them!” Stiles said, closing his eyes and resting his head on the leather headrest. 

“Love might be an exaggeration,” Peter replied, pulling away from the side-walk smoothly. “Why don’t you try to catch a little rest, sweetheart – you look exhausted.” Stiles yawned in response and nodded, reaching over to rest his hand on Peter’s thigh.

“Yeah, okay. If I didn’t love my baby so much, I could get used to being chauffeured around,” Stiles said sleepily, his face relaxing. Peter glanced at him, taking in the long lashes resting against his cheeks, the slight dark circles under his eyes testament to a lack of sleep. Stiles had obviously been worrying about things for a while and Peter could kick himself for not realising what he had caused whilst trying to set everything up. Surprises were clearly not all that they were cracked up to be. 

A check of the time and he hoped that Derek had at least managed to catch Groghu. The offer of food should have done it, but with the way his day had gone, he wouldn’t be surprised to find his nephew in a crumpled heap on the floor with not a cat in sight. 

Crossing his fingers, Peter made his way through the early evening traffic and headed to what he hoped would be a welcome surprise.

* * *


	5. Cats & Cars - Part II

”Stiles – “ Peter spoke quietly, slightly loathe to wake Stiles from his peaceful slumber. 

“Hmm – “ Stiles replied sleepily, snuggling deeper into his seat. 

“I have something to show you, sweetheart,” Peter said, caressing Stiles’ cheek. He was gratified when Stiles turned his head automatically, rubbing his face against Peter’s hand. 

“I’ve heard that before!” Stiles murmured with a smirk but reluctantly opened his eyes. He looked around, taking in the courtyard they were parked in as well as the silhouette of the large house. “What are we doing here?”

“I wanted to show you something,” Peter repeated, beginning to get itchy. He had so many hopes riding on this – 

“Okay.” Stiles got out of the car, stretching and yawning as he stood looking at the house. “This is beautiful! Friend of yours?” he asked, turning to take Peter’s hand as he walked around the car.

“Er – “

“Uncle Peter!” Derek came out of the house looking rumpled and slightly stressed and Peter mentally crossed his fingers that there would be no more catastrophes and that he wasn’t about to have to kill his only nephew. “Stiles! Hi – thank you – I have to go!” 

Following his confusing words, Derek took off at a sprint around the side of the house where the garages were, leaving Stiles staring after him. 

“What the hell – “

“You know Derek – places to go, people to see,” Peter said, steering Stiles towards the front door. At least Derek had closed it behind him – Peter could only imagine what might have happened if he had forgotten. Whilst Stiles was watching Derek’s Camaro driving away, Peter took out his keys and opened the door. “Come along.”

“Peter – “ Stiles followed him into the hallway and Peter closed the door carefully behind them. Before he could say anything, a heavy weight landed on his shoulder and he automatically adjusted his stance. “Laz?” Stiles said, staring at his cat in shock. “What is he doing here?” 

_Mrrow_

Groghu appeared in the hallway, winding himself around Stiles' legs and demanding pets. Stiles did so automatically, picking up the huge ginger cat and cuddling him close.

“I am so confused right now!” Stiles said and Peter smiled. 

“Let’s go through to the kitchen.” Giving in to the hefty head butts he was receiving, Peter gave Lazarus some generous scritches, whilst also reaching into his pocket for the dried chicken pieces he always carried with him. Lazarus showed his appreciation for the treat by licking the side of Peter’s face, the rasp of his tongue leaving a red mark. As they walked into the kitchen, Peter stepped to one side, allowing Stiles to take everything in. 

Laura had done an amazing job, creating a dream kitchen for someone who loved to cook. There was a breakfast bar so that Peter could watch Stiles cook, as well as an oak cat tree with three hammocks and several levels for the cats to climb onto. Groghu leapt from Stiles' arms, sauntering over to the cat tree and climbing lithely to the top, where he proceeded to writhe invitingly until Stiles walked over and stroked him.

“Peter – “

“Do you want to see the library?” Peter asked nervously, not sure he wanted to hear what Stiles had to say.

“Library?” The thought of books caught Stiles’ attention and he nodded, following as Peter led him back to the hallway, then into one of the rooms leading off from there. The library was packed from ceiling to floor with shelving of different heights and widths, Peter’s extensive collection of books filling half of them. 

“I thought you might want to arrange your books yourself. I know you have a weird classification system all of your own,” Peter said. Stiles nodded absently, walking over to one of the bay windows where a hand-carved chess set was laid out, a restored photograph of the Sheriff and Claudia on the window ledge. Placing Lazarus on the floor and ignoring his protests and claws, Peter followed Stiles, sliding gracefully down to one knee. 

Stiles turned around at the sound, mouth falling agape as he took in Peter’s position. 

“Jesus Jumping Christ!”

* * *

Despite many, many examples that would show differently, Stiles was not an idiot. From the time Lazarus had landed on Peter’s shoulder and Groghu had come towards him, he had had an inkling what was going on. The kitchen exactly matched the description of his perfect kitchen that he had talked to Peter about _months_ ago, but he had been convinced the other man hadn’t been listening. It was obvious now that Peter had paid attention to every single word.

Walking back through the hallway, he could see that Laura had had a hand in the decoration, and her constant badgering regarding his taste in colours and textures finally made sense. 

But the library. 

The library was more than a declaration of interest, more than a ‘fancy moving in with me’ – seeing all of the empty shelves just _waiting_ for his books and the things he inevitably picked up whenever he and Peter went anywhere, the beautiful photograph of his parents that he hadn’t even realised Peter had taken – that was a marriage proposal. Turning around and seeing Peter on one knee had been superfluous – Stiles would have married Satan himself to own that library.

“You adorable bastard!!” Stiles cried, pulling Peter to his feet and smashing their lips together. “You did all of this – for me?” 

“Wolves do mate for life, Stiles. And as such, we try to make sure that our partners have everything they could need – or want – “ Cutting off Peter’s pontificating with his lips, Stiles tried to put every ounce of shock, love and trust into the kiss. “Does that mean you’re saying yes? Because I didn’t quite get to ask the question,” Peter murmured against his lips before nuzzling his nose along Stiles’ cheek.

“You’ve been bringing the cats here?” Stiles questioned, sliding his hands over the muscles of Peter’s back.

“I have. And I made sure that there are _four_ of those automated litter trays scattered around so that you don’t try to fob off litter duty onto me,” Peter replied. “However, there is _one_ more thing I need to show you,” Peter said.

He took Stiles by the hand and led him through the mud-room to the entrance to the garage. 

“Close your eyes,” he instructed before turning on the lights. “Will you marry me?” he asked and Stiles opened his eyes, mouth falling open as he took in his Jeep. 

Cora had done a stupendous job – the thing looked brand new, the paint-job gleaming. It had been completely restored from the damage it had sustained, the hard-to-find exact shade of blue now pristine; the vehicle now possessed _four_ working door handles, refurbished leather seats, a new stereo and satellite navigation system installed. The whole thing was a beautiful combination of the original vehicle that had belonged to his mother and a safe vehicle for Stiles to use for many years to come. 

Stiles walked around the vehicle in shocked silence, not even trying to hide the tears in his eyes. He had never felt so loved or understood before in his life.

“Yeah, dude – I’ll marry you!”

* * *

**Happy Holidays!**

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> With thanks to Mephistopholes and Tummysassandass for the pre-read to calm my jitters! I truly hope everyone gets to enjoy the holidays!
> 
> Stay safe, stay well and stay kind  
> Skargasm  
> x
> 
> * * *


End file.
